Sanguineous
by vonsi
Summary: Twelve years have passed since her time in the spirit world, then suddenly he returns only to elude her. But why? When she's unexpectedly allowed back to his world their game of chase ends. Chihiro discovers what has happened to her friend & why he hadn't fulfilled his promise to her sooner. Even greater mysteries are revealed leading to yet another daring adventure. CxH
1. Years That Have Passed

Sanguineous

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away

Chapter One: Years That Have Passed

It was raining. Rain reminded her of him. Of course it would; it was only fitting. Eyes half-mast by the droning words of her professor watched as the falling drops streaked down the window panes. She should have been listening, paying attention to the lecture. But she couldn't bring herself concentrate that day. Not during any of her classes. There was a gnawing at her heart and mind since she awoke that morning to grey skies and wet streets. How long had it been since she last thought of him? Really, really thought of him, of that experience, of that crazy adventure? She couldn't even remember. A week? A month? Two months? Even longer? Chihiro pursed her lips together gently. Guilt crept into her mind, but a long harbored sense of hurt and disappointment always came to combat it and keep it at bay.

It was why she rarely thought so much upon the ordeal these days. Back then, she had felt so hurt, disappointed, betrayed, let down... the list could go on. Her childish mindset hadn't prepared her for the pain. Now, after years had passed, after her heart hardened and her priorities were given to more tangible distractions, she eventually came to the realization that some things just were never meant to be. Yes, there was still hurt, but she wasn't ten anymore, she was twenty-two, now. A grown, maturing woman, working towards finishing her college education. Determined to take life by the horns and wrestle it to her benefit. The pain and wondering and hoping was replaced with the joys graduating from high school, starting college, getting her first job – things that pertained to the living, human world. To her world. Not _that_ world. _His_ world.

She didn't belong there. Not then. Not now. Not ever.

Chihiro had come to understand this, accept this, realize that he probably had done the same and that was why, in twelve years, he hadn't kept his promise. But in the back of her mind she still always wondered. Wondered what he was doing, what he looked like, sounded like, and acted like? Wistful thinking of a lingering, childish mind, she mused as she blinked languidly, lips twitching into a small smile. Even if she could never return to that place, even if that hurt lingered and she had told herself she no longer cared, there was always that part of her that wished to see him one last time so she could thank him again. To just say, 'hello, how have you been?' She believed that she would be content with that, but knew she'd just have to be content with having him gone forever.

Besides, seeing him to know he'd only disappear from her again would only rip her heart open once more. She'd try and deny it, but Chihiro wasn't that naïve. Her life was too hectic to have that added to her already full plate, so she did her best to keep such ideas from her head. Turning her eyes back to her professor, she willed herself to listen to his words and write down notes about enzymes she had forgotten the names of and dreaded all of the reading and studying she'd have to do over the weekend alongside her part-time job to catch up.

* * *

"Mom… Dad… I'm home."

Chihiro still lived at home with her parents in the same, blue house they moved into twelve years ago. It didn't bother her; it was a help while going through university. They didn't charge her rent thankfully, and aside from being normal, somewhat overbearing parents, they left her be and didn't pry too much into her personal space or life. It was an agreeable living situation until she graduated and could move. Move away from home and start another adventure. Move away from that place, not too far away, down the stone-set, dusty road to an abandoned theme park entrance that was, these days, still just that. Abandoned. From both the living world and the spirit world. At least, it had still been when she last dared to venture there on her twenty-first birthday. It would be a bold face lie if she said she had not gone multiple times. More times than she could count when she was still young. When she finally had the courage to go back and told herself that if she went alone, Yubaba would be less inclined to contract her into working without her parents there as blackmail. All she had wanted was to see her friends again. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently so, for every time she passed through that faux train station tunnel and out to that vast sea of rolling green hills, there was nothing beyond. Nothing beyond the riverbed but more grassy hills. No steps leading up to more buildings, and certainly no path that lead to the bathhouse. Just open land, as far as the eye could see.

Hearing no reply thus far, the young woman placed her dripping umbrella into a holder and kicked off her shoes, stepping up into the hallway leading from the foyer to the kitchen, dropping her bookbag off at the foot of the stairs as she went. The sound of her socked feet padded gently in her ears, but alongside it she could hear the tell-tale sound of the stove burning and pots of food cooking, signaling someone had to be home. That and the delicious aroma that permeated the house betrayed occupation. Wandering further inside, she got into the kitchen and curiously peeked beneath the lids of the pots to check the contents within. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her parents outside in their small, though quaint, backyard, sitting at a small table and chatting to one another over cups of tea. An overhead easement of a little patio protected the pair from the rain. The sight warmed the girl's heart, and yet also pulled at it. Her parents' relationship was one that made her constantly aware of her own lack of one. Chihiro was so preoccupied with school that it was difficult for her to focus on dating and boys and their nonsense, but she still longed for it. There were boys that were interested, oh yes. That was not an issue. Chihiro was an attractive girl, beyond a doubt. That chubby cheeked, lanky limbed ten year old developed into a beautiful young woman, a sort of 'girl next door' appearance to her. She was the girl guys would look at and think, 'there's Chihiro, she's cute and smart; the whole package.' But she always distanced herself in the end, even after letting a few slip past that membrane, past her defenses. She was often accused of being too aloof, too; how had they put it? Lost in another world?

The girl frowned to herself and huffed a sigh, tearing her eyes away from the scene when her mother begun to laugh and her father leaned forwards to place a quick kiss upon her lips. Chihiro's chest tightened and draconian eyes flashed unwelcomingly in her mind. If perhaps Chihiro put a little more effort into her relationships she could be happy in that area of her life as well. She blamed it on her schooling. As a biology major, she had no time for foolishness. No time for games. A lot of the guys she dated were still young and dumb. Charming, endearing and more or less good to her, but still just boys. They were too busy wanting to get ready for some get together while she was too busy studying. She felt many of them were intimidated by her. Not to sound pretentious. But the girl was bright and not afraid to show it. Not afraid to 'drop some nerdy ass knowledge' on them, as her friends would say. The guys she dated just couldn't handle that, she had told herself.

It had nothing to do with that fact that none of them were _him_.

This was something she had told herself many years ago. Whether she actually believed it or not was another story. But Chihiro was inclined to think that her lack of a dating life had no correlation to a certain dragon-boy. Such an idea was simply preposterous, childish, and outright idiotic. And that deep down in her heart it was not true, that she wasn't still waiting on him. To do so would be utterly foolish.

Yes, Chihiro was simply too busy with school to worry about boys, and for no other reason.

Padding back to the stairs, she grabbed her bag and headed up to her bedroom. The sight of her bed made her groan longingly. Disposing of her backpack in the middle of her room, she waddled to the bed and flopped down unceremoniously, the sound of her front hitting the plush duvet a satisfying _swish_ of air escaping from the confining folds. She laid there for many minutes, listening to the sounds of the rain as they gently pelted against the window, letting the melody ease her troubled thoughts. Despite herself, her mind slipped back to that rainy day at the bathhouse, when she encountered No Face for the second time before he found himself inside and chaos later ensued. She remembered the day after, and all the water, so it looked like they were marooned upon an island out in the middle of an ocean. And then she remembered him again, him in his other form, being chased by Granny's paper birds. Remembered her daring rescue mission up to Yubaba's private quarters. Remembered how worried she had been. Remembered-

No. No more. The young woman frowned deeply and mentally pushed aside those memories before the old scars could possibly open again, and the rain would be mimicked upon her face as tears falling from her eyes. As much as it hurt to not think on him, it hurt more to do so. This vicious cycle of forgetting then remembering, ignoring then accepting, needed to stop and stop for good. She needed to rid herself of the ordeal before one day it would eat her alive from the inside out. It was like a cancer that was going in and out of remission. No matter how many times she addressed it, suppressed it, was a victor over it, it managed to come back. Now it was more proper to compare it to a splinter to suit her current mood. Something foreign and evasive, intruding in her skin. Annoying and potentially harmful. But once removed, life went on and the site healed new. And yes, there was always chance for more splinters to come, but it was something conquerable. Something that, if careful enough, she could avoid altogether.

The sound of her name being called to her visibly startled her, but it was only her mother calling up to her to announce that dinner was ready. Willing her heart to slow, the girl crawled out of her bed and drug herself downstairs, thwarting off the concerned worries of her parents with a simple 'I'm just tired,' rather than the truth. Even after twelve years she had not told them of what had happened to her that day they moved. Hadn't told anyone. Who would believe her? No one, that's for sure. No one except maybe someone else the experience happened to, which had such high odds that she doubted she'd ever find one. That or all humans who happened upon the spirit realm themselves had been turned into pigs or some other creature and were long since gone from the world. She had thought many times on the possibility of there being someone else, even just one person in all of Japan, who had crossed over, had been through it all and made it back. But how would she even contact them? And there was always the high chance that they had forced the experience so far back in their conscious, repressed the memories so well that it would be like they had never gone at all.

As Chihiro ate, she reminded herself that this was just another recurring phase, and that within a few days her studies would consume her, the rain would let up, and thoughts of a dragon-boy and bathhouses would be replaced by biological functions and protein structures. The thought reassured her, and the girl finished her meal, thanked her parents, and retreated back to her room to begin her evening studies. The night passed well with minimal thought on the ordeal, and Chihiro went to bed, her dreams calm and not pertaining to anything in particular, and she woke in a much better mood even though it was still raining in the morning. This cycle continued for the next few days as the rain gradually cleared, and the spring skies were crisp and clean with the only clouds being wispy tendrils high up above. Chihiro was able to clear her mind of the spirit world, fading away for now with the rain. The week passed quickly, and Friday came like a blink of an eye, and after class she was making for her part-time job at a small mom-and-pop restaurant where she worked as a waitress.

Ueda-san and his wife, the owners of the restaurant named _Ueda's_ , respectively, were a lovely middle aged couple. They hired on Chihiro four years prior, when she graduated from high school and wanted to start working and earning cash on her own. It wasn't a super popular establishment, but she enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. It specialized more as a café-esque bakery than anything. And Ueda-san's wife could whip up a mean batch of dumplings. Chihiro was surprised she wasn't as big as a house. The owners always sent her home with a bag full of left over goodies to take to her parents. The building always smelt amazingly delicious and in the quieter hours of the day if there wasn't much to do, Ueda-san usually let Chihiro study. Friday nights were usually hit or miss. It could either be dead, or swamped. Well, swamped for Ueda's standards.

Aside from Chihiro, there were a few other servers that worked for the Ueda's. Tonight Kokumei was on with Chihiro. She was a young woman of twenty one, just a year behind Chihiro. She attended the same university and was an art history major. She and Chihiro got along quite well and they were good friends outside of work as well. Kokumei was a funny, outspoken kind of gal. The kind of person who typically spoke what was on their mind and could be a little sarcastic and come across as a little abrasive at first, but Chihiro liked Kokumei a lot. She never beat around the bush and tried to kept things as black and white as possible, something Chihiro always appreciated. She had a knack of getting under the other servers' skin because of her blatant behavior, but she was always kind and respectful to the Ueda's and to her customers. She wanted her tips just like everyone else did.

The pair sat at a table by the front window of the café. It was a dead night again that saw them folding napkins for the next day. Kokumei was telling Chihiro a story from one of her classes about some piece of art by some artist she didn't know, but she listened attentively regardless. The other girl's processed, copper-hued bangs fluttered gently in the breeze of the fan above them, and her eyes crinkled as she laughed, dark yet elegant with the smoky-eyed makeup she typically sported. She was a beautiful girl a lot of guys chased after, but like Chihiro she was smart and wise. And she enjoyed playing with their minds Chihiro noted early on, something she found amusing, though the boys did not. It took a special kind of individual to handle the sharp-tongued girl, someone with a backbone who could take well to playful verbal beatings and stand on par with her linguistic skills without shying back with their tail between their legs. It was always a good laugh to watch. Kokumei was one of those girls who stereotypically didn't look too bright, but looks were often deceiving. She liked to call it her weapon of choice.

Chihiro figured that her and Kokumei got along so well was because Chihiro was a pretty laid-back person, and did not get offended easily. Kokumei was easy to get along with if you could handle some verbal jabs that did not always come across as being jokes but weren't meant to cause real harm even if they often did. Also, because Kokumei was an intelligent girl and could offer her both stimulating conversation, as well as being comfortable with discussing the more trivial and often disturbing, personal things that most people would not normally talk about to each other out of embarrassment. Like how long Kokumei's leg hairs had gotten over the last few weeks of not shaving, or other similar unnecessary information that lead to bouts of uncontrolled laughter. That and the girls could be complete and utter weirdos and nerds together and revel in one another's idiocy while the guys would look at them like they were different species all together and the other girls like they pariahs and social miscreants. Kokumei was never without the proper comeback for their muttered words or odd looks.

As the pair dealt with their chore, Kokumei finished her story and the two sat quiet for a few moments. Chihiro spend the silence to think about what school work she had left to finish that weekend as she neatly folded another napkin to its specified configuration. Setting it aside with the others, she glanced up and out the window just in time to see someone walking past. For a moment she thought time had halted to a stop along with her heart and breathing. Grey eyes locked onto a pair hazels, their hue inhuman, like the color of green-olives yet rich and vibrant and serpentine. Hair that was also green though dark, almost looking black but by the betraying light of the setting sun, framed their head in an almost messy, wind-swept manner. His skin was pallid, like freshly churned cream, and his mouth was pulled into a faint frown, that same, icy glare she so vividly remembered. His eyes a proper, stoic match. Chihiro didn't notice what he was wearing, only having attention to spare for his face. She turned her head as he passed by, but the young man did not stop or pause, eventually breaking eye-contact with Chihiro and disappearing out of site. The sound of Kokumei's low, drawn out whistle brought her back to reality.

"Dayum," she quipped, "who was that? He's one hot piece of ass. Mmm!" Chihiro looked back to see her friend's dark eyes peering out the window still trying to watch the retreating backside of the fellow for as long as she could manage. "I'd definitely hit that." But Chihiro wasn't sharing her friend's sentiments. She wasn't doing anything, but peering down at the napkins before her but seeing nothing, eyes wide and heart racing in her chest. Her hands now in her lap were quivering. Kokumei finally noted.

"Hey. What's wrong?" But Chihiro did not answer. It was like she was in shock. She felt like she was in shock. She heard Kokumei speak again but she didn't understand the words, like she heard them through water, slow and languid and undistinguishable. "Chihiro? Chihiro are you alright? What's wrong?" Kokumei reached over the table to place a hand on the startled girl's shoulder and give her a little shake, trying to garner a response from her. "Hello?" she called out in a sing-song tone. "Earth to Chihiro!" Still, the older did nothing yet.

Within her mind her thoughts raced as fast as her bounding pulse. Memories flashed in her mind, memories of _him_ and _that place._ That had to have been him. It had to! It couldn't be coincidence. It looked exactly like him. Exactly! Older yes, but still the same distinguishing features. Still the same haunting eyes. But… but what was he doing here? What did this mean? After all this time, after all these years, why now? Why, why, why?! She had to know. She _needed_ to know. It was detrimental to her entirety at that moment. Still not hearing Kokumei's worried voice or noting her arm shaking her, Chihiro rose to her feet and started to head for the door. Finally she noted Kokumei after the girl came before her, blocking her path.

"Chihiro!" the worried girl said, her usual curt and snarky voice now laced with worry. "Hey, hey, not so fast. What's going on? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Mei," Chihiro started to say, calling the girl her often used nickname. "I… I just…" Kokumei watched her expectantly, eyes darting back and forth between Chihiro's.

"You just what? Is something wrong? Do you know that guy? The sight of him had you looking like you saw a ghost, girl. Tell me what's up." Chihiro wore a more or less frantic expression.

"No, no… it's not like that. I just… I gotta go. Can you tell Ueda-san that I… that I got sick and had to go home?" Kokumei threw her hands up, displeased with that answer.

"Go?! Go where? Will you just freaking tell me what the hell is wrong, Chihiro? It has to do with that guy, doesn't it?" Oh, if only she knew, Chihiro said to herself. If only Kokumei knew. It had _everything_ to do with 'that guy'. Chihiro didn't know what to say and gave her friend a look she knew the other would understand. That 'please just understand and don't make me explain' look that was universal between good friends. Kokumei heaved a sigh and looked defeated.

"Okay. Alright. But _please_ be careful, Chihiro. Don't make me regret letting you leave." Chihiro smiled and gave the girl a look of utter gratitude.

"Thank you! Thankyouthankyou!" she belted out as she went to grab her coat, shoving her arms into the sleeves and slipping her messenger bag's long strap over her head and onto her shoulder, dashing to the door soon after.

"Be careful!" she heard Kokumei's voice with the overhead bell as she raced out the door and down the street, thoughts of her friend fading quickly away as she thought back to those draconian eyes. Being Friday there were a good many people out and about. Chihiro weaved around them, too eager and anxious to offer a single 'excuse me'. Her only goal was to get back to her neighborhood. Back to that place, the place she hadn't been to in over a year. The place she both loved and despised. She knew, just _knew_ she had to get there. If he were someplace waiting, it'd be there. It'd be where he last left her. She knew it in her heart. Despite all the vehemence that had built up within her towards him since that goodbye twelve years prior, the sight of him dispelled it all. Now it was filled with questions and longing. A longing to see him once more. Hear his voice and touch his pale skin so she'd know he was real and that crazy adventure had happened and she wasn't a lunatic.

Eventually she found herself at the hill that lead up to the path. The so-called 'shortcut' her father had called it all that time ago. The shortcut that would change her life forever. Her legs burned and her lungs ached for a steady flow of oxygen. But she didn't care. She ignored it and ran. Ran until pavement turned into stone and the open evening sky was covered by the thick canopy of trees above her. Until those 'little houses' littered the side of the pathway and the smiling statue greeted her, ever-present and covered in moss. And until its sibling met her before the looming entrance to the faux train station, the red paint looking a little more chipped and worn than she recalled. The wind moaned just as it had the first time, picking up stay leaves and blades of grass and carrying them past the threshold and beyond. Chihiro slowed to a stop, eager to continue but her body demanded respite. She caught her breath, heaving in greedy gulps of air, clutching her side and a stitch therein.

She didn't rest long, continuing inside. The girl no longer ran, but rather walked quickly, through the station. Her chest tightened with each step and her pulse quickened. It was as she left it a year ago, and she went on through until the pathway opened up to the sea of green grass. The sky was glorious, mottled in the distance with clouds and streaked with gold and pink. The sun was getting lower and lower and she knew she had to hurry. Hurry before the water came. _If it came,_ a little voice in the back of her mind said, but she ignored it. She had to believe that this was it. That this was the day she had been waiting for. She wouldn't turn back. She wouldn't give up until she scoured the area and could say for certain that perhaps her mind played a trick on her that that young man just shared an eerily, coincidental resemblance to _him._ Chihiro picked up her pace to a jog, the blades of grass parting as she went beneath her shoed feet. The fields seemed to go on forever and the sun dipped lower in the sky, and she picked up her pace.

At last she was approaching the riverbed. Each time she had returned the field was just that, vast, endless, rolling hills of green upon green once more after this land mark. Her anticipation built higher and higher, welling so profoundly within her that she was sure that she would burst at the seams, unable to contain it. Such a strong sense of joy washed over her, that when she finally crested the hill that would lead back down to the riverbed, the sight of nothing more than more grassy hills beyond the trail of rocks it left her so quickly and painfully it was like a bus had hit her squarely. Without realizing it tears begun to streak down her face. Joy and anticipation was now being replaced by hurt and disappointment.

Oh, how utterly stupid she felt. How foolish, childish and moronic Chihiro felt.

The young woman didn't bother to make her way down the hill to the riverbed. Her eyes continued to search beyond it, but the dying light of the evening sun betrayed only grass and nothing more. No stone steps. No frog whose open mouth emitted a steady stream of water. And certainly no signs of the infamous dragon-boy. More tears rained down.

Chihiro's chest hitched and her hands clenched into fists. Why couldn't he have just been there this time? Why did he show himself to her, after all these years, only to hide once more? As much as it would be easier to think that that young man she saw merely looked similar to him but was not, her heart would not let her mind delude it. She knew that was him. _Knew it_. In the dim glow of twilight Chihiro slowly made her way back across the field and to her home, her heart torn open anew and her mind fleet with the gnawing, agonizing question 'Why?'. Why would he do this to her? Did he wish to torment her? Or was her mind really that delusional and playing a cruel joke? But that couldn't be. Kokumei had seen him, too, had she not? So he had to have been real, right?

Heaving out a shaken sigh, his name fell off her lips like some lost, forbidden word that was dangerous to even whisper but spoken as if it might help ease her troubled heart and answer all her questions:

"… _Haku."_

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Hello everyone! I couldn't help myself when I got an urge to start a SA story. So, low and behold another fanfiction! Yay!

I know all my Turgid followers will be highly displeased with me for not spending my time updating. Sorry ;u; I just absolutely adore SA and have always wanted to write a fic for it.


	2. Catch Me if You Can

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Spirited Away

 **Chapter Two: Catch Me if You Can**

"So, what happened last night, Chihiro?"

The young woman looked up from filling the coffee maker with grounds to see Kokumei's intense, curious stare on her as the other girl took a pause in her own task of filling the little table holders with sugar, cream and the like. Chihiro had wished that someone else were working that morning with her rather than Kokumei. She didn't want to have to explain herself. But, anticipating Mei's inquiring nature last night, she had come up with an explanation she hoped the other girl would be satisfied with.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for making you worry so much, Mei," Chihiro started to say, looking sheepish. This was at least genuine. "That guy was an old friend of mine, back before I moved here," she lied, and Kokumei still gave her her full attention. "I lost contact with him and haven't heard from him in twelve years. So I kinda panicked when I saw him. I don't think he recognized me." Kokumei made a face of agreement, so far buying the story.

"Ah, yea, he looked a little icy. Hot as hell, but icy." Chihiro nodded, concurring with her friend, unable to help a little smile pulling at her lips. "Did you catch up to him?" Chihiro's instant change in body language and expression answered that before she spoke.

"No, I lost him in the crowds," she told with a sigh, thinking back to last night, standing in the midst of the open field and feeling hurt and disappointed and ten years old all over again. Kokumei made a little frown of sympathy for her friend.

"Well, if he's here in town, I'm sure he'll show up again. Too bad he didn't recognize you." Chihiro shrugged a bit.

"It's been twelve years, I'm not too surprised. I've changed a lot I guess." Kokumei returned to cramming sugar packets into the holder.

"That is a long time. You should see photos of me when I was ten! I look totally different!" The girls laughed, and Chihiro was glad that Kokumei took to her lie so easily. She felt a little guilty at lying to her friend, but the truth would be so much more difficult for Mei to believe than the lie she gave. "Did you have a crush on him back then?" Mei inquired further, and Chihiro grinned a little. "Ahhhh! You totally did, didn't you! No wonder you ran off after him! Chihiro is in love!" she finished in a little sing-song voice, and Chihiro rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Ugh, just stop, Mei," she laughed, feigning exasperation and throwing a packet of coffee grounds at the girl. Mei tried to bat it away but missed and the thing got her in the gut.

"Hey, I don't blame you! He's fine as hell," she quipped with a mischievous grin, reaching down to pick up the bag and throw it back at Chihiro, who managed to catch it. She didn't retaliate, and returned the pouch to its rightful place. "He can come back here anytime and talk to you, I won't mind."

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Chihiro laughed as she started the coffee maker with the push of a button.

"So what's his name?" Mei asked, reaching for another container and more sugar and cream packets. Chihiro hesitated just a little, contemplating on if she wanted to tell her the dragon-boy's real name or not. Figuring it wouldn't really hurt, she told her.

"Haku," she answered, not using his full name. Haku was a fairly common name these days, anyway. _Nigihayami Kohakunushi_ would be a little much Chihiro decided. Mei inclined her head.

"Short and sweet," the girl responded as she tried to shove one more packet of sugar into her already brimming container. "How'd you guys fall out of touch? Did you have his number or an address?" Chihiro shook her head no.

"No, I didn't," Chihiro said with a laugh, and Mei gave her a look of incredulousness. "What? I was ten. We barely hung out outside of school. We had a lot of classes together and always sat near one another, so that's how we met."

"Plus you had a crush on him?" Mei added with a grin. Chihiro rolled her eyes again.

"Okay, yes, I did." Mei grinned even wider.

"Haha, yes! I knew it!" Chihiro just rolled her eyes again. "You'll see him again," Kokumei announced a moment after, still busy with her task. Chihiro shot her a glance, raising a brow just a little. She sounded quite sure of herself, and Chihiro was tempted to comment on the girl's premonition, but didn't.

"I'm sure I will," she agreed, instead, tidying up the counter top she stood behind. The young woman sounded as convincing as her friend, but in her heart she wasn't as certain. She still couldn't really decide on if his coming here to the human world was a good or a bad thing. And the fact that he had looked at her yesterday like she were a complete stranger did not bode well on her mind. True twelve years had passed and she looked different, but he was a spirit. She was certain he'd have known it was her. He knew her at ten years old years after the incident in his river when she was much younger without difficulty. The vision of his stoic stare holding her own sent a little shiver down her spine. His child-like form held the cold expression with ease and made most people uneasy. As an adult, it was even more frigid. If she had not known him Chihiro would think him to be a very nasty, mean fellow. It clashed with her last memories of him before she returned to the human world. He had been so kind and gentle. Now he appeared anything but.

What happened to him, Chihiro wondered again? What had happened these last twelve years in the spirit world? What had caused her friend to come to the human world, cross her path, and then just as suddenly vanish?

Chihiro had no answers, and she focused on her work before her head exploded with questions.

* * *

The rest of her day at work saw no signs of Haku through the windows. As often as she could she would glance through the panes outside to see if he might pass by, but with no luck on her part. Sunday was just as much a disappointment. It would be a lie to say her hopes weren't high in seeing him again. After her morning shift on Sunday, she even mustered up the courage to go back to the open, rolling fields through the faux train station entrance below her parents' home, to see if maybe, just maybe, he'd be there. He wasn't. Chihiro spent the afternoon at the top of the grassy knoll that lead down to the riverbed below. She could hear the trickle of water against the sound of the wind playing through the tall blades of green as she studied, her books strewn about her on the blanket she had brought. Beyond the river there was again no stairs, no nothing save for grass, and grass, and more grass, with the occasional pile of small boulders here and there and there was certainly no signs of the dragon-boy. Still she remained until the sun started to lower in the sky and dusk was upon her, but the water in the riverbed remained the same level, and she was alone in the vast, emerald sea.

Another week of university started Monday morning, and even though it wasn't raining, her thoughts were on Haku most of the day. It took all of her will to remain focused during her lectures and labs. Being that she was mostly a loner in these classes of her, no one paid much attention to her own lack of attention, save for her lab partners who sometimes had to stir the young woman from her thoughts. The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion. She was still intrigued at the events of that Friday night, but found it easier to focus during school come that next Monday. Her weekend shifts at Ueda's saw no sign of Haku as it had the week before. Chihiro was starting to think that the young man she had seen had simply bore a striking, uncanny resemblance to the dragon-boy, and nothing more, and she was feeling more and more stupid at herself. She stopped picnicking in the fields after her fourth time studying there gave no hints of the spirit world, and she started to lose all hopes again in ever seeing her friends.

That hope was once more suddenly reignited not too long after.

It was a Wednesday, the third one after that fateful Friday night. Chihiro had a short day at university – just one lecture for a molecular biology class – and she was headed home for the day. She was walking along the more or less busy streets when she saw him again. He was sitting on a bench across the street and facing her while she was waiting at a cross-walk for the signal to turn for the pedestrians, but his attention was preoccupied with something else; what she had no idea. Her grey eyes were wide as she watched him, and she had no doubts that this was the same young man she had seen almost three weeks ago. His face looked more softened than it had before as he studied whatever it was he was looking upon. Chihiro didn't fail to notice how at ease he looked with all the people bustling past him. This surely wasn't just his second time here. She remembered her first time in the spirit world and how frightened she had been when the buildings around her sprung to life with their lights and the hazy apparitions of spirits begun to form around her. No, he looked quite comfortable with himself, just curious, like he was simply a tourist from another part of the country. Where before she had only the chance to study his face, now she was able to tear her eyes away for a moment to realize that he was dressed in human clothes and nothing similar to the white and blue outfit he had sported twelve years prior. Aside from his oddly colored hair and striking eyes, he blended right in. He almost looked like a typical, trite teenager, pondering on schemes and troubles for the day. If only the people breezing past him knew just what he was.

Chihiro didn't realize that the beeping of the cross-walk was playing above her and that those who were also accompanying her on the sidewalk were departing across the intersection – towards him – while she remained frozen. He must have been distracted by the announcing melody for his head turned towards the intersection, softened expression of intrigue now replaced by a look of annoyance at the sound, cold and icy façade now fully back in place. Chihiro held her breath, still glued to her spot as she watched him, waiting for him to notice her. He didn't disappoint. At first he simply watched her the way a person watches someone they happen to meet eyes with, and Chihiro's heart sunk. But before he looked away, she could tell he must have remembered her from the other night through the café window, for he did not look away, and his lax posture as he lounged on the bench stiffened enough to reveal his own surprise. Still, Chihiro had to regretfully admit, it looked like he did not recognize her as someone he actually knew. Someone he had helped on many occasions. She wanted to scream, but found she had no voice. She wanted to go over there and confront him and ask him what game he was playing at. Ask him why he was pretending to look at her like someone whom he had never known.

For a good many seconds the two continued to stare at one another, the young man with a look of curiosity and yet, also a defensiveness she couldn't place, and Chihiro wide-eyed and hopeful and hurt. Perhaps the look of longing despair she gave him unsettled the man and that's why he regarded her with such caution. Perhaps he wasn't supposed to be here and he was breaking a rule from his world, and that she recognized him put him in grave danger. Perhaps he really had forgotten about her. That thought hurt the most and she screamed at herself that it wasn't true. A bus that seemed to come out of nowhere suddenly pulled up to block him from her view, and Chihiro sucked in a sharp breath. By the time the bus had moved along – which was just a second or two – he was gone from the bench and she could not see him in the crowds. Her limbs finally seemed to respond to her command once more and Chihiro took a few steps this way and that, attempting to locate him, but to no avail. Immediately she headed home and to the bridge between their worlds.

Once again Chihiro found nothing beyond the river bed but rolling green hills, but this time she felt more frustrated than foolish. She knew that was him. After seeing him a second time she had little doubt. Where before it was a question of her own sanity, now it was a different question altogether:

"Haku… why are you avoiding me?"

* * *

"Have you seen your friend yet?"

Chihiro was wiping down the booths at the café when Kokumei made the inquiry, but she didn't bother pausing from her task.

"No, I haven't," Chihiro lied to her friend despite having seen him two days ago. Though she could not see it, she knew her friend was probably frowning in disappointment. Each time she asked and Chihiro answered 'no', the younger girl become less and less excited with the next time she asked. At first she asked her every time she saw Chihiro, even text her at the end of the day when she had asked already in the morning or afternoon if they passed each other at Uni, but lately she would often skips days.

"Ah," was her initial reaction, not sounding surprised. "That's a shame." Chihiro had to agree.

"Yeah," she started to respond, finishing her booth to move onto another. "It's alright, though. I'm sure he'll show up again eventually." Chihiro tried to sound optimistic to keep her friend's thoughts at ease. Mei would shake her head and agree for her friend's sake, but lately left it at that. There were times she had wanted desperately to divulge the events of her trip to the spirit world to Kokumei, and not just since seeing Haku again. She wanted someone to talk to about her frustrations and her questions, not just herself. But for the same reason she didn't tell her parents she never told her friend.

If she had told Mei that she had seen Haku Wednesday afternoon and told her that he looked at her the same way he had when she first saw him that Friday night, she was afraid that Mei would say yet again that he probably didn't recognize her and potentially had forgotten about her. Chihiro didn't want to hear those words, thus, why she lied to Mei. Sometimes she appreciated Mei's sugar-free words even if the biting truth she offered was stinging and painful, because it was better to rip a bandaid off quickly and not slowly. This was not one of those instances. Her bandage was going to be a slow, agonizing ordeal to remove, Chihiro knew, and currently she was able to endure that pain with gritted teeth and denial.

She couldn't believe that he had forgotten. She wouldn't. That was a pain too much to bear.

* * *

She saw him again a week later. It was a late, Saturday afternoon after her work shift. Chihiro was tired; the afternoon saw a stream of customers that morning and she had made a good amount of tips. In her mind she counted over the money again and considered treating herself to a bit of shopping. It was almost the end of April and the summer fashions were on display. There were some particular outfits she had seen window shopping with Mei that she eyed lustfully a few days ago when they went to the mall after their classes were out to have lunch. The trip also allowed Mei to glare deviously at passing young men, and much to Chihiro's chagrin sometime boys would come over to talk, even to Chihiro, when she had no desire to speak to any boys.

 _Any boy other than Haku_ , a little voice said which had made her purse her lips.

Chihiro was about fifteen minutes from her parents' house with money still on her mind. She was cutting through a park, a future trip to the mall running pleasantly through her thoughts, when she noted someone out of the corner of her eye. There were only a few people she could see at the park – a family sitting in the grass beneath a tree as their toddler ran around them, two old men sitting at a little table playing shōgi, a woman jogging along the pathways that snaked through the park, and then the other person who caught her interest. He was looking her way, she realized, and when she slowed down enough to meet his gaze, her breath caught and she came to a complete halt.

"Haku," his name fell off of her lips in a whisper. She could not know if he heard it against the rustling of the wind through the trees around them and the sound of the beautification he occupied. If he had he gave no signs of it. The spirit was seated at a fountain, water gurgling languid and happy behind him out of the mouths of sculpted koi. Of course he was seated there, astride the water and his affinity. The path she walked lead past him and the fountain that was on the other side of a short hedge of Hawthorne. She did not stop directly across from him, but close enough. If she had to guess only about ten to fifteen yards separated them. He was slightly slouched with his arms, clad in the sleeves of a dark, charcoal jacket, across the tops of his thighs, those encased in a pair of light-washed jeans. The late noon sunlight made his dark green hair and lighter eyes shine brightly, and he looked very much the spirit she remembered him to be despite his human garb and different haircut. She herself was dressed in her work uniform still: black pants and a white button up with a black tie and short, black apron servers would wear about her hips. One of the pockets still bore a few straws. The tail of her tied up hair rustled alongside the leaves as the wind continued to blow through, and though it was a little chilly out she felt on fire in his gaze even if it were as cold as the arctic. The grip of her hands as it clutched the strap of her messenger bag across her shoulder was viselike, her knuckles white from the exertion. All hints of her fatigue from work were washed away.

Chihiro had thought about what she would say to him when she finally saw him again; had rehearsed the lines in her head many times over. None of them came to her now. She felt as if she were bound by a spell, and wondered briefly if perhaps he had placed her in one. He regarded her with that same expression he had given her that Wednesday afternoon after school – guarded interest. Like she were some foreign creature that was mythical and dangerous and while you knew it was better to run and hide and fear for your life, it was all you could do but sit and stare and babble because your world was tipped upside down as you came to grips with this distortion in your reality. But he said nothing, his mouth never changing from that frown of his. He was obviously waiting on her to move first. She wondered idly how long he'd wait and sit there if she too decided to simply stand and gawk at him. Probably not too long, she had to admit. Trying to find her courage and her voice, she swallowed hard.

"Ha-" but she stumbled on his name she had wanted to speak again, and that small, awkward syllable must have broken whatever spell he himself had been under, for he straightened where he sat and his expression became even more cautious. The young woman moved herself just slightly, advancing a small step closer to the hedge, and his expression changed to one that Chihiro knew the exact meaning of: do not come closer. It was like a knife was plunged into her gut and twisted at the venomous look he wore. She had seen him wear it before when he found her in the spirit world the second time, disappearing and cowering behind a building, when Yubaba's bird had been circling the skies above, looking for the intrusive human girl who wandered into their realm. That it was now directed at her made the young woman shiver and gasp for a breath of air. Before she could say or do anything else he rose swiftly to his feet and the woman froze again, unsure of what to expect. She was both relieved and yet disappointed when he tore his eyes from hers and begun to walk away in long, hasty strides.

"Wait!" she called out behind him as he went and she too started to follow. As her own pace increased his too quickened, until he was running swiftly through the park with Chihiro on his tail. Veering off of the path, he headed between a small gathering of trees and she followed, watching as his image came and went from view. When she emerged from the little gathering, he was nowhere to be found, but she realized that the direction of his path would eventually lead to the old amusement park below her home. Where before she had been hasty in reaching the bridge between worlds, now she was sprinting as fast as her legs and heart and lungs would allow her. She didn't see him anywhere, but blindly she ran after him once more to the place she had to assume he would go to. Her bag bounced aggressively off of her legs as she ran, breaths heaving and her heart racing like a hummingbird's. The scenery around her was a blur and she paid anyone she passed no heed at all as she sped down the streets. She had to slow her pace when she same upon the stone set pathway leading to the entrance so she wouldn't fall and sprain her ankle. The little house like shrines littered beneath the trees met her, as did the two statues along the way, still eerie and moss covered. Without pausing she passed into the faux train station.

She thought she felt the presence of something tickle against her senses. It made her falter just a moment but then she regained her speed. The light of the sun passed through the little window with its four different panes of colored glass, bright and happy and inviting. In the distance the end of the tunnel was a patch of brightness where the sun shone down on it. The sound of the city was drowned out by the silence the building offered, though she couldn't hear the distant hum of a train going and her chest felt much tighter.

 _It's there!_ She yelled to herself as she ran. _He's there!_ He had to be there.

Like a runner of a race coming close to the home stretch Chihiro willed herself onward. Bursting out of the exit the green sea of grass welcomed her again. Looking around she saw nothing, no signs of Haku or anyone else in the fields. Continuing to run she almost tripped and fell a few times, but urged herself onward, up the hill. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. Her mouth was wide open, gaping like a fish for air as she ignored her burning legs and fought against gravity to the crest of the hill.

And there was nothing once more beyond.

Chihiro audibly growled out her frustrations as she looked across the little valley of the riverbed cutting through the rolling fields to more fields again. She cursed as she sucked in more deep, ragged breaths, clutching at her side and a stitch that had formed there. Like the first time she came here when she saw him finally, tears started to fill her eyes without her knowing, as her anger swelled within her. Sinking to her knees she gripped the grass around her as if it were the only thing that could keep her anchored at the moment. She feared her pain and loss and anger would carry her away into insanity. As she cried in her frustration, she started to laugh, the sound not pleasant, and she was glad she was alone so no one would hear it. Letting her head fall forward, she then fell onto her hands. The dampness of the earth below the grass seeped into her pants as her knees bore into the ground, and her hands were also cooled from the touch while her heart and emotions were ablaze in stark contrast. She cursed once more.

"That son of a…" her words trailed off as she ground her teeth, making her jaw hurt in the process. She felt like screaming until her voice gave out. Felt like throwing the rocks down the hill and across the riverbed to shatter whatever illusion it was that kept her from the spirit world. And she wanted to strangle Haku with her own, bare hands.

"Why?!" she growled out aloud, eyes and nose stinging. "Why is he doing this to me?" she muttered out. Lifting her head, she looked out over the continuing landscape again and still saw nothing but grass and field. Reaching up with one hand, she clenched at her chest, hand gripping into her shirt. She didn't care that the damp green glass left a stain on her flesh which was now dirtying the pale cotton of her blouse. "Damn him. Damn him! I hate him! God, I _hate_ him!"

 _It's not attractive, you know? Lying to yourself,_ she heard Mei's voice say in her mind. At the thought Chihiro laughed bitterly and sat back on her legs, looking up into the sky. Did she hate Haku? Right in that moment, maybe, but no, she didn't hate him. How could she? He wasn't even a human, like herself. He was bound to different rules and regulations; bound to a different realm. Who was she to expect him, a spirit, to cater to her whims? Who was she that he would possibly risk his own existence in speaking to her?

 _But he's my friend,_ she answered those thoughts weakly. And that's why she couldn't really hate him, even if she wanted to deck him across the head right now. Wanted to search for him and not stop until she found him, until she discovered the truth behind all of this madness. Damn the consequences, she thought. She'd been to the spirit world once and survived. She could do it again.

She laughed again at herself.

"Listen to yourself, Chihiro… you are so naïve." The girl sniffed and brought her arm up to wipe the tears from her face into her sleeve. "You'd never find him that way." It was still a satisfying thought to hunt the spirit down, regardless of whether it could actually happen or not. Pushing aside such whimsical ideas, the girl rose to her feet and sighed heavily.

"Still… why does he keep running away?" she asked herself again, unable to fathom the answer to the question. "Why are you deliberately avoiding me, Haku?"

She was beginning to think that she'd never find out, and wished, not for the first time, that twelve years ago her father never took that short-cut down the stone set road to the spirit world beyond.

* * *

"Just who are you?"

The words, dripping with intrigue, whispered out of his mouth with a hint of annoyance. There were a lot of things he did not know anymore, he hated to admit. Things about his life that were essential – even his own name. He couldn't recall where he had come from, who he was, what he was and how he ended up with this severe case of memory loss. All he knew was that he wasn't human. Of that he was certain. Of the few things he knew about himself, he did understand that he was a spirit, from the spirit world, and had found a way to cross over into the world of the living. Just what kind of spirit was yet another mystery. This young human woman following him about was just as much as a mystery to him as was everything else. Why was she trailing him? How did she come to find the entrance of the spirit realm so easily, even if she did not manage to pass through? It was as if she _knew_ ; knew exactly where to find it and not that she was simply following him.

" _Do not interfere with the lives of humans if you know what's good for you, Maigo. Bad things will come of it."_

The quavering words of the old man he happened upon back in his own world repeated in his mind not for the first time that day. He had been quite adamant, the lost spirit remembered. He didn't know if the old spirit had given him the warning out of prejudice or if there was actual merit to his threat. The lost spirit knew it wasn't the wisest of choices, meddling in the lives of the living. He did not interact much with any human, really, when he indulged his whims and meandered through the bustling cities of the mortal realm. Part of him was truly fearful and took heed to the warning. Just enough to make him quiet around the humans and avoid outright interacting with them but not enough to keep him from coming back time and again when he discovered a bridge between their worlds. If he did interact, it was minimal and he never divulged pertinent information to the unsuspecting humans. Not that he had much to divulge, he mused bitterly.

" _And what if I do? What if something happens that I cannot help?"_

" _You say that as if you've already done something."_

" _If that were true, I do not remember."_

" _Just heed my words, Maigo, and you will spare yourself much trouble."_

While that small part of him that trusted in the old spirit's warning bid him to leave the girl be, the other, vaster part of him wanted to speak with her. Though it was probably a fantastic whim to believe, there was a chance that this girl knew him. How, he could not say. His time searching for answers came up futile. It was just intuition. Whenever she looked upon him it was expectant, like she was waiting on him to raise his arm over his head and wave to her in greeting. Like they were chums, and had seen each other more times to count since they were just babes. Why else would she follow him so feverishly, like her very being depended on it? Why else would she freeze when he looked upon her and she him, like time itself had stopped and the entire world only involved the two of them? He some long-lost lover or some such thing.

It couldn't be a coincidence and he pondered on these things as he watched the girl from the top of the seemingly old, faux train station entrance, as she finally got to her feet off in the distance and trudged her way back towards him. Before when she tried to follow him, he would run off completely and did not stop, so he had no idea that she had come here. But, by her easy finding of the place, he had to assume that she had come here often; far more often than he could fathom. He knew it because now he could place the lingering scent and aura of a human in the grass to this girl. She was indeed an interesting mortal. Hidden from view, he waited as she passed through the tunnel. Once emerging from the other end, the lost spirit followed the girl with his eyes until he could no longer see her, and then jumped down from his perch to follow from a safe distance on foot. Eventually she climbed a hill and later came before a blue house, entering the thing. It was obviously her home. He could still feel the bridge from the spirit world to the mortal world not far off. Easily trekking through the yard of the neighboring home using a slim amount of power he still knew how to control to mask his person from sight, he discovered that below the track of homes, down a steep hillside, was the path that lead to the rolling green fields.

 _Well I'll be damned. She's right above it,_ the lost spirit mused to himself as he peered up from her neighbor's backyard and to the blue house to his left. Trees behind their home offered him a view into the windows, and he eventually spotted the girl in what he assumed to be her bedroom from the branches and foliage after climbing up into the tree.

"Just who are you?" he asked himself again. Perhaps the next time she managed to cross his path he'd end their game of hide-and-go-seek and see for himself just what made this human girl so fascinating, consequences be damned.

"Sorry, Roujin," he couldn't help but say with a little grin, referring to the old spirit, as he leapt down from the tree and wandered away from the girl's home, "but I'm going to have to ignore your warning again…"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Yay, another chapter!

I hope you guys enjoyed it, and enjoy the way this story is going so far. I hope these meetings between Haku and Chihiro are not redundant. At least at the end there it explains (and probably confirms) just why he's been running away from her! Find out more with the next chapter what happened to poor Haku!

 _Maigo_ means a 'lost/stray child' and _Roujin_ 'old man' (I hope ^u^; lol)


	3. Over the Hills and Far Away

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away

Chapter Three: Over the Hills and Far Away

It was raining, again. Chihiro was lying on her bed, listening to the falling water as it played its melody against the panes of her windows. Once again her thoughts were on the bathhouse twelve years ago and that rainy day the stink spirit had come. Unlike when it had rained over a month ago and she had been able to halt the memories from her mind, now she readily dwelled upon them. Perhaps not the healthiest habit, but it couldn't be helped after having seen Haku for the third time, now, a few days ago. She also thought again on the entrance to the spirit world and why it still would not open for her. Wondered if Haku was using that portal to come into the spirit world or not. Surely if he was, wouldn't it be opened to her, too? She had been hot on his trail, and yet, it looked the same as when she visited before and nothing like that first time twelve years prior. Could that mean he was using a different entrance altogether? She thought it possible. While racing after him from the park he was nowhere to be found, but she hastily went to the familiar location figuring that he'd go there, too. Yet, if that old amusement park could lead one to the spirit world, surely other portals were scattered around the prefecture. Around Japan. He could have easily made his way to one of these, instead, while she went to the seemingly broken portal below her house. This idea was a defeating one, she admitted. She had no way of knowing where to even look for another entrance to the spirit world. If the old theme park was an entrance, then old alleyways, forest paths, or any other common place location could lead her there, the girl theorized. It could take an entire lifetime to scour through just her city alone in search of another entrance, let alone all of Japan. Chihiro frowned deeply at the thought and sighed in her frustration.

"If that stupid portal would just work for a change my life would be so much easier," she mumbled to herself, referring to the theme park. She'd be able to get through and hunt down someone for some answers, even if it wasn't Haku. Ideally, she hoped to find him, first. By his reactions to her the past three times of seeing him, though, she wasn't sure if he'd even stick around long enough to indulge her questions. Regardless of that, someone would remember her, Chihiro argued. Someone from the bathhouse – Kamaji or Lin or Bō or Yubaba. Or Granny or No Face in Swamp Bottom. Wouldn't they? Twelve years had passed in the mortal realm. Was that equivalent to the spirit realm? Did time pass more quickly there than it did here? Chihiro felt defeated again at the idea. Perhaps countless decades had passed and no one was left to remember her. Perhaps the bathhouse wasn't even there, and everyone was gone, except Haku. It could explain why he suddenly showed up in the mortal world. It still didn't explain why he seemed to have forgotten about her, though.

"This isn't getting me anywhere," she admitted to herself as she rolled over onto her back and stared up at her ceiling. "Worrying and fretting won't help." Pursing her lips after, Chihiro made another deep sigh through her nose and pushed herself up into a sitting position. Over on her desk a stack of textbooks sat, taunting her with guilt and the many chapters she knew she should be reading at the moment. She couldn't muster up the energy that morning to study. Her parents were gone at work so no one was home to encourage her and check in on what she was doing. She would have had class that morning but her professor sent an email the night before announcing that they wouldn't be able to make it and a substitute couldn't be acquired on such a short notice. Chihiro had no qualms about missing class when she woke up to gloomy skies and rain. Her body was so accustomed to rising early that she had been up since six thirty. With the day off she hoped to catch up with some studying. But now and it was almost eleven and she was feeling a little guilty that she hadn't done anything that day aside from eat breakfast, watch a little television, and lay like a sloth in bed thinking about her past. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation for lunch so the young woman pushed aside the feelings of shame and drug herself out of bed, plodding downstairs to the kitchen to prepare herself some food.

She ate on the patio, watching as the rain fell down outside the shelter of the easement overhead. The mug of tea astride her plate plumed up steam against the crisp, spring air, whisping to and fro as gentle breezes swept through her backyard. Sometimes a stronger gust would blow through, pulling at the wind chimes hanging prettily from the patio cover. Their songs became louder and more aggressive, whether it was the metalling clanging of the copper one on one side or the thwacking of the bamboo one on the other. Chihiro fancied that after such a strong wind she'd see the white scaled and teal manned form of a dragon land gracefully down in the small span of grass beyond the patio. She would run up to meet him and hug his large head to her body and press her forehead to his and then they'd fly back to the bathhouse where Yubaba had prepared one more test for her in hopes of enslaving her for the remainder of her years. Chihiro blinked away the memory and frowned for the umpteenth time that day.

Finishing her meal, Chihiro retreated back to her room in attempts to study, but to no avail. Her mind could not focus on anything and she found herself rereading the same lines in her texts again and again. Leaning into her chair she let her head fall back. Mouth hanging open she groaned out loudly (since no one was home to question the action) and drug out the frustrated sound for many long seconds. Afterwards she brought her hands to her face to rub at her eyes, hoping to instill a sense of determination into her with the act. Needless to say it didn't work.

"I can't focus on _anything!"_ she complained, falling forward again to slump her head into her hands, elbows propped up on the edge of the desk. Her eyes scanned the pages beneath her and she puffed out her cheeks and deflated them with a troubled exhale. "I have so much reading to do, but I can't make myself read this stuff right now," the girl continued to whine, sounding a lot like her ten-year-old self. She imagined the sight of her mother's face smiling in remembrance were she to have complained this to her, humor touching those eyes as the older woman thought back on memories of the girl's dissent to pretty much everything in life, Chihiro ruefully recalled. It was a feat in and of itself that her parents once tolerated her almost perpetual bitching. Such a thought caused her to grin, but it didn't help in her current predicament. She picked up her pen and tapped it against the glossy pages, trying once more to read. She only got in a paragraph before she realized that she hadn't even registered what the characters were explaining.

"Maybe," she murmured around the end of her pen that she had started to gnaw on – a habit she practiced when frustrated if the myriad of bite-marks on the plastic were any indication. "Maybe I just need another little break," she decided. She glanced to the clock also occupying her desk; it was a few minutes after 12:30. "Yea… just… just a little break."

And, of course, by a 'little break' she meant, 'I know damn well I'm not going to get any work done right now so I'm just gonna give up and not fool myself any longer'. Even further, it meant she was going to go and pay a visit to the theme park. Again. She had to at least try and pretend for the sake of her grades and for the money being spent for her schooling that she would get some work done that day. Definitely not now, but eventually.

* * *

Chihiro changed into something practical before racing downstairs. At the foyer she hastily pulled on a pair of rain boots with a black and white houndstooth pattern, and a raincoat that was navy blue with red accents. Last she grabbed her umbrella, not caring if the black and white polka-dotted pattern clashed with the jagged checkmarks of her boots. It was the only umbrella left, anyway. At least the colors matched, she mused to herself as she pulled out her keys from her pocket to lock the door behind her as she left. She'd try and make it back before her parents got back home in a few more hours. She didn't want them worrying about her when she had told them she wasn't going to leave the house because of the rain. If they knew about her obsession with the old theme park they probably wouldn't have believed her. But, they didn't, and admittedly Chihiro wasn't feeling very confident about the visit to come. It was just a means to placate her troubles and to help rid herself of the restlessness she was feeling, so she wasn't planning to stay very long.

So, down her street she went, making her way to the stone-set road that would lead her back _there._ With the rain she took a leisurely pace, satisfied with the way her boots would smack against the wet ground as she walked through puddles. She didn't care how old she was – playing in puddles was always gratifying. Eventually the old path was before her and she didn't hesitate to continue onto it. With the rain falling, small rivulets of water wove their way down the hillside between the little houses and the stones of the road below her, continuing on down the hill to the left of the path. It seemed to take a long time to head down it. Perhaps because she wasn't running full throttle in the hopes of catching a certain someone. Chihiro huffed out a breathy laugh at the notion, but couldn't help but wonder again where Haku currently was and what he was doing. As she rounded a bend in the road she saw the old red building in the distance and the statue before it. Despite the endless frustration it brought her it was a welcome sight to see. She thought back to when she had left the thing after her crazy adventure; how it had been just a solid, stone wall covered with foliage and nothing like the red faced building she now looked upon. That had greatly troubled her back then when she had finally mustered up the courage to return. Chihiro had feared that it would be the same, stone wall that would either not lead her to the spirit world at all, or lead her someplace within the realm she was not familiar with, far, far away from the bathhouse and from Haku - as if her leaving the other realm somehow reset the portal, making sure she could never return. Somehow it had changed back to the structure they first happened upon, but crossing over to the spirit world, whether it was to the bathhouse or not, had been, of course, futile in the end. The girl thought that it was at least a good sign that the building had always stayed the same since then. If, for some reason both were gone completely and the path brought her to a dead end, she knew she would be devastated. Even thinking on that was too troubling a thought to entertain so she quickly squashed it down before it could take root in her mind.

Entering inside, Chihiro closed her umbrella now that the rain wasn't a threat. It dripped a trail behind her alongside the wet footprints her boots left. Eventually these dried out as she entered into the lobby. The pillars and empty wooden benches welcomed her like old friends. With the sunlight blocked out by the grey clouds above, the round, colored windows did not shine happily into the area, casting their various hued reflections onto the floor below as they often did during her visits here. Approaching one of the benches the girl sat, resting her umbrella against the edge of the thing. Admittedly her legs were a little tired from the walk, as well as her arms from holding onto her umbrella during the trip. It was pleasant to simply sit and listen to the rain falling against the building. It made her smile when she thought back to her youth and her first visit here. She would have never wanted to stay alone inside the building. In truth it was a little spooky, Chihiro thought to herself as she glanced about. The shadows fell heavily in the corners of the building, ominous and threatening. But the woman didn't mind. After those days in the spirit realm not much scared her anymore. At least, she liked to think so. Following that experience, her parents had noted the drastic change in their daughter, unable to fathom just what could have altered her disposition so profoundly. Chihiro of course played it off for what it really had been. She simply told her parents that she was getting too old to be scared. Too old to complain about everything all the time – that that was for children and she certainly was no longer a child. Her parents had been greatly bemused by such a proclamation, but Chihiro held fast to her words, surprising them. Her adventure had made her realize just how much she had grown in but a few, fleeting days, and that she wasn't the same, spoiled brat kid anymore. She was determined to prove to everyone that she had changed. She owed a lot to her time in the spirit world. If not for those trials she knew she wouldn't be the same person she was today. Another smile pulled on her mouth and she closed her eyes.

They flashed open a moment later when the sound of something off in the distance caught her ear. Her mouth fell open, though she held her breath as she listened.

"Was that…?" she breathed out, but her worlds trailed off, unable to finish the thought. The woman sat up straighter, straining her ears. Her heart was suddenly racing and it felt like it was in her throat. Again she heard the sound, and this time she wasn't mistaken.

Chihiro leapt up from the bench and begun to sprint her way through the lobby towards the tunnel that would lead her to the rolling hills. Her umbrella was forgotten and it slipped to the floor from her sudden movements. The sound of her footsteps smacked loudly as she ran. When she emerged rain instantly fell down upon her but she paid it no heed. The tall, wet grass was slumped over as she ran through it, streaking against her boots or the hem of her raincoat. She bothered not with her hood and eventually her brow was wet and her hair littered with drops of water. Slipping once, she fell hard to the ground but the wet earth took the impact more easily than it would have on a warm, dry day. Unfazed by the pain now radiating from her left knee she continued onward a little more carefully, but no less feverish on her path. Down the sloping hill and then up the side of another the girl ran. She almost slipped once more but caught herself last minute before she could and tumble back down. Pulse rapid, chest hitching, eyes wide, the girl fought against gravity as she ascended and then stopped when she reached the top of the grassy knoll. Heavy breaths fell from her open mouth, visible against the chill air as they left her parted lips. The white clouds dissipated as they floated away. Frantic eyes looked down from the hilltop and didn't even register the presence of the riverbed below, the usual small, babbling stream now a small river rushing through it. They could only stare incredulously at the flight of grey, stone stairs that ascended up the hillside across from her. The frog was there, though no water poured out from its mouth pointed up to the heavens. No, it was still far too early in the day for that. At the base the lantern tower was there, too, its rice paper shade protected by the little pointed eave it sported. Off to the right was the ramshackle hut. Chihiro swallowed hard, her entire body quaking with the realization of what she saw. The stairs where there! After twelve, long years they were finally there. Beyond them she could even see the old buildings; the storefronts making their way up the path that would lead to the restaurants, and eventually the bathhouse beyond. The eateries would be empty at this time of the day. It was still early, perhaps about two o'clock, now. She had a watch on her wrist but she made no move to look at it, only having eyes for the scene before her. The girl felt like she could cry at the sight, but no tears were shed. Swallowing hard once more against her ragged breaths, the woman was spurred into motion again when she heard that same, familiar sound in the distance.

Down the hill she went, slipping towards the end and sliding the rest of the way to the bottom. She stopped her fall with a stretched out foot, bracing herself as it hit a large boulder. Luckily the rubber soles of her rain boots absorbed a good amount of the jarring impact. She scrambled up to her feet after, ignoring the way her foot still tingled, grass clinging to her raincoat and her hands stained a faint shade of green. Thankfully the water in the riverbed wasn't too high, allowing the woman to hop her way across the expanse without threatening to topple her over. She went a little more quickly than she should considering the rain and the mossy, slippery rocks, but in her haste she wasn't paying much heed to her well-being. Chihiro was still too shocked to do anything other than make her way as fast as she could to the bathhouse, mind reeling and heart bounding with joy and surprise and relief. Reaching the stairs she made her way up. Small patches of moss and grass grew here and there on the stone or in the cracks from the dirt below. Chihiro could have laughed at the sight of it all; it was just as she remembered it to be twelve years ago. She had no doubt that this was same part of the spirit world that she had been to all those years ago. She had finally made it through! After all these years the portal finally worked! She felt ten years old all over again as she crested the staircase.

Stopping for a moment she caught her breath, her sides searing and lungs burning. Her head was drenched, now, and water dripped down beneath her collar and dampened her sweater she wore under her rain coat. Still, she didn't care. It didn't matter if her face and hands were freezing, her left knee throbbing and her right foot aching. _She was here!_ She urged herself onward, continuing up the path from the stairs that would lead her through the little city of shops. In the distance she saw another set of stairs, this one much smaller than the one leading up from the river. The brightly colored buildings with their unlit neon lights flanked them and the path beyond. Chihiro chanced a quick glance to the building besides her, imaging how those lights would look lit up in just another couple of hours from now. Turning her attention back to the path before her and to the stair she was approaching, Chihiro saw something that made her suddenly skid to a halt. Almost slipping for what seemed the hundredth time that day in moist earth beneath her feet, she put out her arms to stop herself and thankfully managed to stay standing. Her eyes widened even further and her breath hitched at the person standing at the top of the stairs, blocking the path. Recognizing him instantly, she now had no more desire to continue onward. That guarded, but curious look was on his face again. Her polka-dotted umbrella was in his hand. Like her he was damp with rain, though not nearly as soaked through as Chihiro looked. It clung to the ends of his hair and dripped onto his shoulders. Those green eyes burned brightly even without the light of the sun to illuminate them. In the distance she heard the same sound which had spurred her into action at the entrance to the park: the train. Neither the girl nor the spirit acknowledged its song and only continued to stare at the other. What felt like an eternity passed before he finally spoke.

"You shouldn't be here." Chihiro felt washed over with déjà vu at those words, but this time it wasn't the voice of a child she heard. Deeper, though no less intimidating, the man now sounded as he said this to her. Chihiro felt a shiver run down her spine. She couldn't tell if it was from the cold, her excitement, or the shock of seeing him here and finally hearing his voice after so long. "If they find you here they will kill you." _Or turn me into a pig… or a lump of coal,_ Chihiro couldn't help but follow up silently to that statement. She berated herself for the thought. He seemed quite sure of himself, though, in that she would die were she to be discovered. She wasn't ten years old anymore. She hadn't come here by accident. Chihiro was an adult now, and no longer a child, and had ventured back into the spirit world willingly, purposefully, and she would have to face those consequences. It didn't seem like he held her to the same accountability, though, otherwise she had a feeling that she would already be dead. It made her hopeful.

"Why did you come here, Human?" he went onto ask when she didn't answer him. At that statement she felt her expression fall a little, and that hope dwindled a bit. So, it was true: he didn't remember her. A pit of sorrow started to form in Chihiro's heart at this confirmation. "I know you can talk. Answer me." There was a hint of warning on his voice and his eyes flashed brighter in his impatience. Chihiro struggled to find her voice, but tried to, not wanting to rouse his temper further.

"I… I…" She stumbled, lips quavering with the words she wanted to say to him but could not find the heart to. _I came here for you,_ she answered him in her mind. Obviously he could not read her thoughts and he just continued to glare at her impatiently.

"It is said that a Witch rules over these lands. If she finds you here it will not end well for you," he informed her. Chihiro could only nod her head in acknowledgement. Swallowing, she finally found her voice.

"I know," she said, the words but a whisper from her lips but he seemed to have heard, regardless. She saw his brow twitch slightly to her response, as if he couldn't believe what she had said.

"You know?" he reaffirmed her answer and confirmed his disbelief. She nodded. "How? Have you been here before?" Chihiro felt the strong urge to laugh again, now at the cruelty she felt fate had dealt her. Of course she had been! He was the first spirit to find her here! He was the one who helped her! He was the reason she was able to save her parents and return to the mortal realm! She felt like she should be the one asking the questions, here. Why had he forgotten about her? Why hadn't he come to the mortal realm to meet her sooner if he had the ability to do so? Why now was she finally able to cross over to the spirit world after so many years? And if he apparently did not know her, why was he here, currently talking to her? Did he have an underlying sense of obligation to help humans who entered into his world, whether he knew them or not? She didn't ask him any of these things, though, reminding herself that she was trespassing once again in this world.

"Yes," she told to him instead, and across his face an emotion flashed so fast that she couldn't be sure exactly what it had been. "Twelve… twelve years ago. By accident." Those intense eyes held her own.

"Perhaps that long ago it had been an accident as you were only a child then; you coming here today looked anything but," he accused her, and Chihiro could only stare at him. "You returned here willingly. If you have been here before then you know you should not be here, now." Chihiro knew this. Of course she knew. She knew, too, that if she lingered she could also disappear if she did not eat something from the realm. The woman refrained from looking down at her hands to see if they were already beginning to turn translucent.

"I know," she said once more. He frowned more deeply.

"Then why? _Why have you come here?"_ he asked again, urgency on his voice. Again she could only remain silent, not knowing how to answer. She thought he would become more irate but he didn't. In fact, his face softened just slightly, and on it passed the emotion she couldn't place earlier: it was hope. Just miniscule but it was there. He took a step down onto the stair below him, then another, but after stopped, not descending the rest of the way. Chihiro was still frozen in place as the rain fell down upon them. He was just as soaked as she was, now.

"Could…" He hesitated, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to finish whatever it was he had wanted to say. Licking his lips, the spirit seemed to have found his resolve, and in a quiet voice he asked: "Could it be that you know me?" For a moment Chihiro saw such vulnerability on that handsome face that she felt like she could have cried for him and the torment he was undoubtedly feeling. Her voice but a whisper, she answered him.

" _Yes."_

Closing his eyes a brief moment as if he couldn't believe his ears, the spirit took in a breath. Upon opening them, his former, stoic expression returned on his face, though nearly not as guarded as before. He descended down the remaining stairs and approached the woman with the air of someone important even if he didn't seem to remember who he was. Opening her umbrella as he neared, he deftly hoisted it and when he was close enough to the woman, he stopped and extended the thing out to shield her from the rain. Chihiro, still holding her breath from his sudden advancement, exhaled when it seemed he meant her no harm, and those grey eyes swept down to look at the hand he presented to her.

"Come. We have much to discuss, you and I," the spirit bade her, his voice quiet but firm. It sounded like he wasn't trying to make it seem like an order. Like she had a choice in the matter and could refuse him if she wanted despite the intensity of his expression. Chihiro knew she didn't have one, and he looked sure that she wouldn't object. It almost made her feel irked. Almost.

Without a second thought the girl put her hand in his and let him lead her away.

* * *

Author's Notes: Hello everyone! Finally, after what seems forever, I found the muse to write another chapter out before school starts!

Hope you enjoyed some Chihiro/Haku enteraction~ :)


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